Category Archives: Continuing Professional Development

After feedback from ASYEs and practitioners the University of Sheffield’s ASYE module has been revised. The revisions were agreed at November’s SYTP Strategy Board and this will now be rolled out to all Partners.

From February 2019 the ASYE module will consist of a 2 one day workshops, which will run 3 times a year. At the 6 month review period each ASYE will have a meeting with their Team Manager/Social Work Consultant and a decision will be made about whether they are ready to be put forward for the ASYE module. If it has been agreed their name will be forwarded to the ASYE Lead at the University of Sheffield, Lynda Hughes. The ASYE will then be contacted with the dates they have been allocated. The final assessment, after the 2 one day workshops will be a 15 minute presentation on a topic they will be given before hand.

The CPD module will still carry 15 credits. Further information please contact ASYE Module Lead – Lynda.Hughes@sheffield.ac.uk Lecturer at the University of Sheffield

Please note that the information on this page relates to applying and registering for CPD modules/courses which are accredited by the University of Sheffield or Sheffield Hallam University.

How do I apply for study for a module?

We will advertise the number of places offered and will invite you to register your interest with your Workforce Development Contact. Should there be more interest than places then there will be a selection process.

If you have been offered a place on a module, then the process for taking up your place is as follows:

Please note – all steps must be completed before you can start on the module.

You will receive an electronic copy of the SYTP Learning Contract . Please complete it asap and return it to either a.f.clark@sheffield.ac.uk for University of Sheffield (UoS) modules or l.smailes@shu.ac.uk for Sheffield Hallam University modules (SHU). Please note that it is expected that you will meet with your line manager and PSW or workforce development lead to complete the Learning Agreement.

You will receive an email with links to either an online application form for UoS modules or a partially completed application form for SHU modules,and instructions for completion. You should only apply for the module you have been nominated for. NB For UoS you will need your HCPC registration number to hand when completing the application form. Once you have completed the application you will receive a confirmation e-mail that your application has been submitted.

UoS admissions will then send you an e-mail giving information about your offer and advising you that you will receive a further email providing instructions on how to register online to join the University and set up your student account. The registration form takes you through several steps all of which must be completed. SHU admissions team will send you an offer email which you will need to reply to.

SHU enrolment team will then send an email about a month before your module starts: August for September module; October for November module; January for February module and March for April module, with instructions on how to set up your email account and also an online registration form which you must complete.

Once you have registered you will be issued with your Ucard, have access to University facilities and be set up for the award of your credits.

Remember – both the application form and registration tasks must be completed, and the learning agreement form completed and returned, before you can take up your place on the module.

The Sheffield Hallam University Social Work Practice Educator Conference is now an established annual event. This year’s conference brought together over 160 Practice Educators. Keynote presentations and workshops were planned in response to feedback from past conference delegates that identified areas of focus for professional education and practise.

The first part of the 2018 conference included four keynote presentations:

Mark Doel, Emeritus Professor of Social Work at Sheffield Hallam University, considered professional social work identity and storytelling through Social Work in 42 Objects;

Pete Nelson, Principal Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, presented findings from recent research which considered whether child obesity is a child protection issue;

Suzannah Rockett and Wendy Zayne, Practice Development Manager and Child Protection Conference Chair at Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, reminded participants of the importance of safeguarding in professional Social Work practise;

Steve Chu, Chief Executive at Age UK Sheffield, promoted the contribution of social work to third sector organisations.

During the second part of the 2018 conference, workshops provided Practice Educators with opportunities to meet researchers who shared their work and facilitated discussion about specific aspects of supporting the practise education of students.

Dr Marelize Joubert (Sheffield Hallam University) led the workshop on Social Work students’ perception of their readiness for practice and to practise.

Chrissie Edmonds (Sheffield Hallam University)’s workshop focused on direct observation and its vital role for the practice educator.

Throughout the day, participants were encouraged to network with fellow Social Work professionals from across the sectors, sharing everyday experiences and debating common challenges faced and how these are being met by Social Workers.

Feedback from the day:

“I found it beneficial to hear the guest speakers, attend the workshop (although I would have liked to do both!) and also found it useful to hear and learn from the experiences of other practice educators”.

“Enjoyed the good mix of key note speakers and the workshop topics were particularly relevant to Practice Education “.

The South Yorkshire Teaching Partnership has developed a clear CPD pathway to support the development of our managers and leaders. This pathway forms part of our Advanced Practitioner Framework for practitioners in children’s and adults services, and includes:

A 30 credit module ‘Introduction to Leadership and Mentoring

A Post-Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Management, which is delivered by the University of Sheffield’s School of Management

The Assessed and Supported Year for New and Aspiring Managers (ASYAM) – a pilot programme to support new and aspiring managers through their journey into frontline operational management which will be delivered from March 2018, and will combine bespoke, targeted CPD provision along with work-based mentoring and support, in order to develop a clear, well-supported career pathway into management for our social workers.

The Assessed and Supported Year for New and Aspiring Managers (ASYAM) pilot has been designed to identify, develop and support aspiring managers and leaders across the South Yorkshire Teaching Partnership (SYTP). The ASYAM will combine bespoke, targeted CPD provision along with work-based mentoring and support, in order to develop a clear, well-supported career pathway into management for our social workers.

The ASYAM pilot will build on the Leadership and Management stream of our Advanced Practitioner Framework, ensuring that future managers and leaders are supported to bring the skills and knowledge developed during this training into their practice, and to further develop and refine these skills under the mentorship of mentors who are experienced managers.

By supporting the development of effective and skilled social work managers, the ASYAM will raise standards and performance in services leading to improved outcomes for service users and carers. The ASYAM will also be embedded within a defined workforce development strategy for the SYTP, and will be mapped to the KSS for practice leaders and practice supervisors. The programme will contribute to the improved recruitment and retention of social workers by ensuring that aspiring managers are supported in both their everyday practice and their individual career aspirations.

The pilot programme will be fully evaluated, and the results of the evaluation will be used to further review and develop the programme, including its timescales, and to determine if the programme will be rolled out across SYTP.

This programme is grounded in what the research tells us about how people improve their practice. It is, therefore, an evidence-informed programme aimed at improving and developing the knowledge, skills, and values of participants for future management and leadership positions. The programme uses a metacognitive approach (Bruner, 1996), which identifies explicit and challenging goals for participants, identifies strategies to reach these goals, and monitors progress towards them. It is based on three inter-related elements: Organisational observation as a foundation for knowledge and skill acquisition; deliberate acts aimed at maintaining, developing, and improving knowledge and skills; and social support for learning and practice development.

Our Advanced Practitioner Framework is modular based and supports continuous professional development across four strands:

Social work practice – modules that are designed to develop your skills and knowledge, and to help support and enable you to deliver first class services

Practice education – Stage 1 and Stage 2 Practice Educators awards

Leadership and Management – modules to support aspiring/new managers and mentors, plus the opportunity for experienced managers to undertake a PG Certificate in Leadership and Management in conjunction with the University of Sheffield’s Management School (which is in the top 1% of business and management schools worldwide).

Research and evidence-informed practice– as a partnership, we are committed to embedding research mindedness across all areas of social work education and practice. Social work requires compassionate, thorough assessment through empirical engagement with the lives of individuals and families and complex analysis to generate knowledge and understanding. In these core respects social work is very similar to research and requires a similar skill set. In support of this, we:

Include modules on research and evidence-informed practice in our qualifying and post-qualifying training

Support social workers to undertake work-based research projects which address practice issues/challenges

Ensure that social workers understand how cognitive biases and professional cultures can affect the ways they make sense of the world

Ensure that our social workers can develop and use their research skills within their practice, for example to support effective information gathering, assessment processes and analysis.

All modules are accredited and social workers can therefore build up credits towards a range of postgraduate qualifications including a Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership and Management or an MA in Advanced Professional Practice.